Mason Freshman Heads to 2012 Olympic Team Trials

Shaina Krause, left, at the 2010 Spain Open in Alicante, Spain. Photo courtesy of Shaina Krause

Known for her quick feet, Shaina “Light Toes” Krause is heading to the 2012 Olympic trials for taekwondo this week.

A Mason freshman, Krause, 18, studies the martial art at the Phan University of Martial Arts as part of Team Mooto. They will participate in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in taekwondo.The trials begin on Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The two-day event will feature competitors from all over the world.

According to Krause, who is half-Korean, studying taekwondo, the Korean national sport, was important in learning about her roots and culture.

“When I was young, I used to go with my mom to watch my sisters practice taekwondo,” says Krause, a biology major. “That’s when I knew that I wanted to follow my sisters in their footsteps.”

Krause’s older sister, Cheryl Krause, qualified for the U.S Team Trials to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics but did not make the Olympic team. Cheryl, a Mason sophomore majoring in kinesiology who is also a member of the 2010 Collegiate National Team, has high hopes for her sister, who has won 36 medals in competition since 2000, including the gold in the 2009 U.S. Open (junior light category).

“Shaina has demonstrated an increasing amount of dedication in the past several years. This has led her to her well-earned spot to the upcoming U.S. Olympic Team Trials. I am confident that she will do well on this high stage,” says Cheryl.

Shaina Krause is determined not to let anything get in the way.

“I am doing my best to manage full-time school with work and training. But it can get tough,” Krause says. “It takes a lot of sacrifice in many aspects of my life, especially my social life.”

Training for the Olympics is also no easy task, according to Krause, who trains an average of two to three hours daily.

“The competition is pretty intense. Sometimes, I have to compete in five different fights in one day,” Krause says.

For Krause, qualifying for this upcoming trial is her biggest achievement.

“This is my most prized accomplishment by far. I have been training a lot and have been waiting for this moment for a long time,” she says. “I feel good about it, and I am ready.”